The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
