The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
