The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent 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, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
