The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
