The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
