The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
