The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
