The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
