The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
