The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say 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 being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
