The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
