The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
