The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
