The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
