The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
