The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just 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.
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
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