The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to stay there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
