The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing 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 on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then 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 after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
