The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
