The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
