The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
