The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
