The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
