The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
