The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
