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The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Falling Apart?

Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or imploding.

Matteo's Surprising Return

One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.

He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."

Uncovering His Natural Fit

It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn