The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
