The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
