The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
