The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances 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. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
