The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two 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.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
