The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
