The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time 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. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
