The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
