The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
