The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn