The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
