The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
