The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn