The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
