The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
