The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
