The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
