The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus 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, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
