The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
