The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
