The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
