The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one 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 only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
