The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn