The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
