The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
