The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
