The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
