The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
