The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
