The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus 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, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
