The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio 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. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
