The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
