The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
