The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy 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. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
