The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
