The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
