The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
