The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
