The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
