The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
