The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
