The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
