The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
