The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent 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 a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place 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 with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
