The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
