The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming 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, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
