The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
