The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing 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 self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
