The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
