The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign 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
