The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
