The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
