The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, 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, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
