The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
