The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
