The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
