The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
