The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 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, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
