The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
