The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
