The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
