The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
