The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
