The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled 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
