The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
