The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
