The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term 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
