The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous 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?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
