The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating 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, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn