The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
