The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
