The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
