The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
