The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
