The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime 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."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
