The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
