The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
