The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti 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. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
