The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
