The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
