The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
