The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
