The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. 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. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
