The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
