The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
