The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
