The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
