The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
