The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the management 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 not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
