The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
