The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn