The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
