The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
