The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
