The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
