The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 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 an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
