The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
