The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
