The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
