The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
