The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten 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 president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
