The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled 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 while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
