The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 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 departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
