The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
