The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
