The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
