The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
