The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
