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The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Coming Unstitched?

Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.

Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.

Matteo's Unforeseen Presence

One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.

He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."

Finding His Best Role

Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn