The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
