The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
