The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
