The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
