The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
