The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
