The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
