The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
