The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 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 departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
