The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
