The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
