The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 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 at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
