The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
