The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A 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, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent 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, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
