The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
