The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
