The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
