The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. 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 wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
