The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
