The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
