The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
