The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
