The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
