The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
