The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent 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?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
