The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
