The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club 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 "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
