The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
