The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
