The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
