The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
