The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
