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The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.

A Season Unraveling?

Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Surprising Return

One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.

He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."

Discovering His Best Role

Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn