The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
