The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
