The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
