The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
