The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
