The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
