The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, 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 scored seven times. Shoehorn
