The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
