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The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Unraveling?

Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.

The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.

Cancellieri's Surprising Return

One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."

Finding His True Position

It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn