The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
