The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
