The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He was on 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. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
