The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
