The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
