The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
