The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
