The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
