The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
