The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
