The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
