The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
