The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
