The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
