The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 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 chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
