The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
