The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
