The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
