The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 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 a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
