The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals 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.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
