The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
