The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed initially 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 as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
