The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
