🔗 Share this article

The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Coming Unstitched?

Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.

Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.

Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback

A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.

Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."

Discovering His Natural Fit

It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn