The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
