The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
