The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
