The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
