The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
