The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative 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
