The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
