The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
