The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
