The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
