The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
