The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
