The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
