The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
