The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A 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 but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
