The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
