The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
