The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
