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The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" 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 their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.

Matteo's Unforeseen Return

At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."

Uncovering His Best Role

It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn