The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
