The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
