The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
