The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
