The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
