The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
