The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
