The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
