The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy 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
