The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
