The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
