The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed 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 ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
