The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
