The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
