The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, 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 would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
