The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
