The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
