The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
