The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
