The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
