The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, 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 during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
