The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just 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.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
