The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup 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
