The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
