The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
