The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially 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, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- 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."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
