The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
