The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
