The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
