The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 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.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
