The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
