The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
