The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
