The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
