The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
