The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
