The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 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, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
