The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
