The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
