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The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?

Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.

The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback

A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.

He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."

Uncovering His True Position

Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn