The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one 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 "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
