The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term 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, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
