The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
