The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
