The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy 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
