The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
