The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
