The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
