The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
