The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. 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. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
