The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
