The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign 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
