The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
