The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
