The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
