The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
