The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
