The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics 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. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
