The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn