The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
