The feeling 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 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
