The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact 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 registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
