The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
