The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived 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, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- 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 then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
