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The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.

Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.

Matteo's Surprising Return

At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.

He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."

Uncovering His Best Role

Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn