The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
