The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
