The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
