The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all 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 had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
