The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
