The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
