The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
