The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
