The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
