The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
