The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed 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 for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
