The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
