The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
