The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, beating 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 progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
