The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind 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 a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
