The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
