The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
