The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
