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The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?

Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence

A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.

He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."

Finding His True Position

It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn