The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
