The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described 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 during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
