The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
