The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster 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 accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
