The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
