The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach 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. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
