The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk 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 recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
