The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
