The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
