The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
