The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
