The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
