The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
