The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
