The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio 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 in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
