The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
