The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management 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 did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
