The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio 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, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
