The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, 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 "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
