The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
