The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
