The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short 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 imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
