The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A 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 left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
