The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
