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The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.

The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.

Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback

One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.

He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."

Finding His Natural Fit

Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn