The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
