The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
