The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
