The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
