The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
