The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
