The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
