The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
