The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating 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, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
