The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
