The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
