The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
