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The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just 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.

A Season Falling Apart?

Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.

Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.

Matteo's Unexpected Presence

A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.

He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."

Uncovering His True Position

It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn