The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
