The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. 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 concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
