The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread 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 board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
