The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league 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 at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
