The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a thread holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
