The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
