The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
