The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
