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The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.

A Season Coming Unstitched?

Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.

Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.

Matteo's Surprising Comeback

One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."

Uncovering His Natural Fit

Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn