The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for 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 advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
