The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, 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 without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
