The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
