The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
