The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
