The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
