The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
