The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
