The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
