The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
