The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
