The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
