The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
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 much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
