The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, 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 determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
