The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
