The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
