The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, 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 as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
