The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
