The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
