The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
