The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
