The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
