The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed 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 about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
