The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
