The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
