The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
