The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
