The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
