The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing 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 during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
