The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
