The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming 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 determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn