🔗 Share this article

The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.

A Season Coming Unstitched?

Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence

A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.

He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."

Discovering His True Position

Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn