The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
