The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to stay there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
