The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
