The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
