The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
