The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
