The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
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 in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
