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The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Unraveling?

Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.

Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.

Cancellieri's Surprising Presence

One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."

Finding His Best Role

Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn