The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 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 ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged 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 rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
