The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup 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
