The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus 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 club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season 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
