The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself 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 scored seven times. Shoehorn
