The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
