The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
