The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
