The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
