The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
