The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
