The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach 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 accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual continued to smile throughout. 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 owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio 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, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
