The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
