The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse 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 determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
