The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
