The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
