The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
