The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
