The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, 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, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
