The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one 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 "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
