The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy 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
