The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten 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 president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 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 after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn