The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge 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 without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed 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. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
