The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
