The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while scoring only 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.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
