The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
