The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
