The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 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 president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him 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. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
