The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
