The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
