The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
