The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus 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 club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
