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The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return

A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."

Discovering His True Position

Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn