The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
