The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
