The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
