The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the nature of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
