The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
