The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
