The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
