The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a thread holding it together from the beginning? 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 accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
