The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
