The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
