The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, beating 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 progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
