The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
