The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
