The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
