The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
