The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
