The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
