The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, 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 could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
