The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
