The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
