The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy 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
