The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
