The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
