The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 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 departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
