The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
