The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
