The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent 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, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
