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The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a binding element 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 not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return

A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.

He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."

Discovering His Natural Fit

Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn