The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
