The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan 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. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
