The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
