The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
