The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
