The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
