The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
