The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
