The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
