The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
