The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
