The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
