The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
