The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
