The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
