The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
