The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him admitted that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative 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
