The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
