The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
