The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a thread holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
