The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
