The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
