The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
