The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
