The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn