The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
