The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
