The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club 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
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
