The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
