The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent 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 a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
