The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
