The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
