The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
