The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
