The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
