The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
