The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
