The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
