The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
