The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
