The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
