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The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence

At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.

He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."

Discovering His True Position

Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn