The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those as a substitute. 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 then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature 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. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
