The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 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 chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
