The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
