The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
