The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
