The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign 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, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
