The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
