The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league 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, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
