The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
