The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one 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 was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
