The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized 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 tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
