The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
