The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product 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, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
