The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
