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The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.

A Season Unraveling?

Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.

The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.

Matteo's Surprising Return

One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.

He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."

Discovering His Best Role

Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn