The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
