The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined 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 for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
