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The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.

A Season Unraveling?

Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence

At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.

He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 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 had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."

Uncovering His True Position

Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn