The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
